Mozilla looks to set record straight on HTML5, taking aim at Google and Microsoft HTML5 claims in the process

InfoWorld|Feb 28, 2011

Hype around HTML5 is fast calling into question the legitimacy of standards-compliant claims -- a trend that could prove costly for those fooled into pursuing vendor-specific technologies being passed off as HTML5, says Mozilla developer evangelist Christian Heilmann.

"People now ask you, 'I want to have an HTML5 website. Can you build it for me?' They think it's a certain look and feel, rather than a technology thing and an interaction kind of technology," says Heilmann, one of several seeking to ensure that technologies lumped under the HTML5 banner work on multiple platforms, rather than a single browser.

According to Heilmann, a lot of what is being passed off as HTML5 is actually vendor-specific technology that works only on a specific browser. He cites a Google video demonstration mislabeled by some to be HTML5, as well as some features of Internet Explorer 9. Such miscategorizations are becoming a "general problem in the press and also for end users," according to Heilmann, who usually points out offending claims about HTML5 in his blog.

Unfortunately, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), which is in charge of the HTML5 specification, will be of limited help in that it offers an HTML5 branding program with a logo but no HTML5 certification program. And if you think certification is coming, don't hold your breath.

"This is not a conformance logo. There is no qualification," says W3C representative Ian Jacobs. "The logo means, 'I like HTML5.'"

W3C does, however, plan to offer test suites to validate broad interoperability of HTML5 across browsers and other systems, Jacobs added.

Not everyone has gotten on the HTML5 bandwagon, at least not at this juncture. It still has not seen substantial uptake in enterprise applications, such as content management systems and financial programs, Heilmann says.

"The enterprise-level market hasn't quite taken onto HTML5 yet, sadly enough," Heilmann says, adding that a lot of these applications only work on Internet Explorer 6 or depend on a specific environment. But they'll get to HTML5 eventually, he contends, as "the technology allows them to be much more flexible," without having to rely on third-party plug-ins or Java technology.